It was 8 a.m. Larry was running late. Had he done everything? He had brushed his teeth. He had brushed his tongue. He had gargled with mouthwash. He rushed out of his apartment. He took the M16 bus to 23rd Street. The bus was crowded. A young woman pressed against a window to avoid a fat man who was standing too close to her. Larry got off the bus and walked to the NYU dental center. He went to Patient Admissions. He filled out the forms and paid $95. He went upstairs with his student dentist. She was a pretty girl from India. He asked what her first language was. She said Hindi was the national language of India. Each of India's 26 states had its own language, also. "So you speak three languages?" he asked. She said she spoke Hindi, Punjabi, and English. He sat in the dental chair.